Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 20 (ANI): Gujarat Titans (GT) spinner Sai Kishore praised Shubman Gill's natural leadership, citing his impressive captaincy in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for GT and in the England Test tour for India.

Gill was appointed captain of the Indian Test team after Rohit Sharma's retirement, leading the team in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, a five-match Test series against England, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

Gill also serves as the captain of GT IPL. After Hardik Pandya departed from the franchise, Gill was appointed as GT's captain ahead of the IPL 2024 season and continued in that role for the 2025 season. He had shown promise as a leader, guiding the team to the playoffs in IPL 2025.

While speaking to ANI, Sai Kishore said, 'Shubman has always been a prodigy from junior cricket to domestic cricket to India A, IPL and everything. He has always been a prodigy. He has scored a lot of runs and the very reason that he took to captaincy and there is no surprise is that he took it like fish to water. The way he led IPL was very nice and to see him lead in England was another different level because there were a lot of doubts on how India is going to play in England. The way they came out of that series actually gives a lot of confidence not just for the fans but as fellow players as well that we are going in the right direction.'

Kishore also applauded GT head coach Ashish Nehra's coaching, citing his vast playing experience and game understanding as key factors in uniting and benefiting the Gujarat Titans team. GT won their maiden IPL title under his guidance in the 2022 season.

'I have been a part of GT for the last 4 years, and I would say he is one of the best coaches going around in the country. Also because he has played the sport for so long and he understands the game so well that it is benefiting not just the bowlers in GT but the whole team in general. I think he is the one factor that is keeping the Gujarat Titans team together,' he added.

Nehra served as the bowling coach from January 2018 to 2019, leveraging his expertise to enhance the team's bowling capabilities. In January 2022, Nehra was appointed head coach of the newly formed franchise, leading them to victory in the 2022 IPL season, where they finished first on the table and defeated Rajasthan Royals in the championship game. (ANI)